Brantley Gilbert

Country performer Brantley Gilbert's knack for penning hard-charging songs like "Dirt Road Anthem" for artists like Jason Aldean helped to boost his own career as a singer with chart-topping hits like "You Don't Know Her Like I Do" and "Bottoms Up." Born January 20, 1985 in Jefferson, Georgia, Gilbert was raised on a musical diet of classic Southern rock like Lynyrd Skynyrd and early alternative acts from the region like R.E.M, both of which would have a considerable impact on his own songwriting. He took only a passing interest in music until the age of 19, when a near-fatal car accident forced him to take a hard look at his future. He decided on forging a career in music that would showcase his signature sound - a blend of country, rock and soul - and slowly made a name for himself as a solo acoustic performer. After moving to Nashville, Gilbert signed with Warner Chappell Publishing and began work on his debut album. Modern Day Prodigal Son, released independently in 2009, performed moderately well, as did its follow-up, Halfway to Heaven (2010). Gilbert found greater success as a songwriter, scoring two No. 1 singles on the Hot Country Singles chart with Jason Aldean's covers of his songs "Dirt Road Anthem" (co-written with Colt Ford) and "My Kind of Party." The attention generated by these hits brought Gilbert to Valory Music, which signed him to their roster and reissued Halfway to Heaven in 2011. The label's support, combined with a high-profile tour with Willie Nelson, helped to boost the singles "Country Must Be Country Wide" and "You Don't Know Her Like I Do," to the top of the Hot Country Songs chart and send the album itself to No. 2 on the Country albums chart. Two additional songs from the album, "Kick It In the Sticks" and "More than Miles," broke into the Top 40 on the Hot Country Airplay charts, which helped to earn Gilbert the Academy of Country Music's New Male Artist Award in 2013. The following year, he released his third album, Just As I Am (2014), which debuted at No. 1, while its first single, "Bottoms Up," followed suit on the Country singles chart. That same year, Alden's cover of "Dirt Road Anthem" became the best-selling song in digital history by a country male solo artist by selling over 4 million copies.